Smith Mountain Lake and surrounding area is most popular in the summertime for water sports, vacationing, fishing tournaments and so forth. But there are also many wonderful winter attractions and fun activities at the lake during winter months as well. Bundle up warm and come out to enjoy some of these fabulous cold weather events at the lake and it’s surrounding counties! Below are just a few you could choose from.

~ The Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount, Franklin County, VA. – This is a new and exciting live music performance center. Large enough for good size crowds of nearly 500 in the main room (plus a lower level); a 40 ft. stage with state of the art lighting/audio, etc. and offering performances in a variety of genres. In Jan. and Feb. 2015 you can enjoy great groups such as: The Embers, Marshall Crenshaw & The Bottle Rockets, The Wildfire Band and much more. See the complete Harvester Calendar here https://www.harvester-music.com/calendar.

~ Sontag Disc Golf Course will be hosting the The Brawl Disc Golf Tournament on Feb. 7th. What is Disc Golf you may wonder? Disc golf is a game somewhat similar to traditional golf. However, instead of a ball and clubs, a concave plastic disc is thrown into metal baskets situated on an outdoor course. The sport became popular in the 1970′s, and just like in regular golf, the object is to complete the course with the fewest throws. This tournament is part of a series that includes four division: Pro, Ladies, Amateur and Junior and does involve fees. Contact Jeff Peters at jpeters@uttermost.com for more details. (Picture Credit - ”Disc golfer and basket” by Steve Ganz – http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveganz/11559175/. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via )

~ SoVA (Southern Virginia Wine Trail) will be having it’s Winter Wine Fest on Feb. 21st in Danville, VA. Twelve Virginia farm wineries will offer tastings from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in a heated the indoor arena at Danville Community Market. Good food and live music from Firecracker Jam of Lynchburg. For Ticket Prices and other available information visit http://www.sovawinetrail.com/.

~ Southwest VA Boat Show 2015 - The Southwest Virginia Boat Dealers Association has hosted the Annual SWVA Boat Show for over 30 yrs. This years Boat Show will be at the Roanoke Civic Center February 20th through February 22, 2015. The event has grown tremendously over the last couple of years and represents a unique opportunity to see every dealer and boat on Smith Mountain Lake. The event will have a Free Admission Friday….for more on other admission fees and info. go to http://www.roanokeboatshow.com/. (Picture Credit - ”Sea Isle Marina Miami Florida left 20100213″ by Averette – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0)

~ The Red Valley Community Center in Burnt Chimney, VA will feature a live Bluegrass Concert by Johnathan Dillon & Friends. The concert will take place on Jan. 31st from 6pm to 8:30mp. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Admission $10 at the door. For more info call 540-537-3415

~ Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville, VA offers a chance to spend time with the Dinosaurs! On Saturday, January 24th, the museum’s Dino Day festival will feature exciting, NEW life-sized dinosaur skeleton casts! Marvel at real dinosaur fossils from the museum’s collections! Play dino-themed games and create dino-crafts! Witness special presentations by dinosaur experts! Did we mention animatronic dinosaurs?! Dino Day is sure to be a festival of Jurassic proportions! Visit www.vmnh.net to get more details and info.

The Franklin County Arts and Crafts Festival is Free to the public and will boast sixty arts and crafts displays. You can enjoy the art show exhibiting works from area students, eat great food while listening to a number of top local bands, visit the car show (loaded with classic and modern cars, trucks and motorcycle competition). There will also be craft areas where children and adults can play and create to their hearts content!

All money raised from donations, sponsors, raffles and booths will go to the non-profit, Rocky Mount Center for the Arts. If you are an adult or youth artist, crafter, vendor or classic car owner and would be interested in participating in the annual art show, please contact us directly at 540-483-1317 or email: rockymountarts@hotmail.com. Forms can also be downloaded from www.rockymountarts.org…….deadlines for participation are July 1st and Aug. first, so hurry if you are interested.

If you are none of the above but want to enjoy a day filled with exciting sites and sounds for the whole family, come and join us on Saturday, August 10 from 8am-3pm at the Benjamin Franklin Middle School.

Just imagine being able to make windows or pieces of art with the beauty of glass. You can come and create your own stained glass masterpiece at the Rocky Mount Center For The Arts, Inc. The classes will begin on Wed. June 12th from 6 to 8 pm. You can select from a large variety of patterns or bring your own design.

The Cost is only $200 for the 8 week course and the price includes all materials!. The Instructor will be artist, Nell Fredericksen. The space is limited so call to sign up soon: 540- 483-1317. Located at 220 Franklin St. in Rocky Mount, Va.

Producer Sara Elizabeth Timmins of Life Out Loud Films, and a native of Virginia, says more SW Virginia filming is in the works. Life Out Loud is rapidly gaining a reputation as a production company for quality inspirational films. It is their effort to keep costs down and quality up as they try to better each community that becomes the background for their films. And with each film they make a portion of the proceeds is given to some good cause, such as community clean-up or the Scott Winter’s Scholarship Fund.

“Lake Effects”, their first movie in Va. featured well known actress Jane Seymour and was filmed on location at Smith Mountain Lake and released in 2012. This film portrays the secrets, struggles and personal growth of 2 estranged sisters who come home when their father dies.Their next film, made in Giles County, Va. was “Wish You Well” based on the David Baldacci (New York Times bestselling author) novel. You can watch for it’s release in 2013.

While Ms. Timmins is not telling much yet about the next 2 films to be released, she does say that they will be as intriguing and inspiring as the others! Keep your eyes open for Life Out Loud’s latest production, “Wish You Well”. For more information you can visit http://www.lifeoutloudfilms.com/.

The movie “Lake Effects”, recently filmed at Smith Mountain Lake is finally coming out on dvd for those who have not yet seen it, or who wish to have their own copy. On August 14, 2012 Anchor Bay will be releasing the movie nationally for purchase on dvd. The DVD is the uncut version which contains extra segments about how the movie was made, scenes that had to be cut for the Hallmark Premiere and a new cover.

But you don’t have to wait till August, you can reserve a copy for yourself ahead of time and even get it personally signed by the producer by visiting Life Out Loud Films website. The cost is $18.00 + $4.00 for shipping.

Finally a premiere date on the movie we have all been waiting to see, “Lake Effects”! This movie is based on the life of one of it’s producers (Sara Elizabeth Timmins) and filmed on location here in Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. Mark your calendars and don’t miss the first showing on May 6, 2012. (Hallmark has changed the premiere date just in case the date showing here conflicts with what you may have already seen.)

HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL ANNOUNCES THE ORIGINAL WORLD PREMIERE OF

“LAKE EFFECTS”!!

The HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL premiere of Jane Seymour’s “LAKE EFFECTS” is planned to air on Sunday, May 6 @ 8pm ET/PT, 7C. If you have heard of another premiere date, please note this is a current update of when the World Premiere is to be shown. This is a great occasion! LIFE OUT LOUD Films will be presenting “Lake Effects,” a Sara Elizabeth Timmins Production. Written by Scott Winters. Directed by Michael J. McKay. Music by Kazimir Boyle. Executive Producers Bart and Lynn Wilner. Produced by Sara Elizabeth Timmins. Distributed by Vision Films.

If other folks at Smith Mountain Lake have been as eagerly awaiting the release of the Lake Effects movie as I have, you will be glad to see this new website about the movie!

As most of you know the SML Community pitched in to help Life Out Loud Films produce a movie based on the life of 2 sisters at our lovely lake. That movie, “Lake Effects” is completed and should be out in theatres soon. But in the meantime Life Out Loud Films has put together a great website where you can watch movie trailers, meet the actors and learn other interesting facts about the film.

Check out the Lake Effects website. It will make you even more proud of our beautiful lake and more eager to see the film! (You also might want to check out their newest big screen project with Sara E. Timmins (producer) and author David Baldacci’s book “Wish You Well”.)

Looking to make some good late summer memories of your time at Smith Mountain Lake?

Then the Beach Pavilion is just the place for you on Saturday, August 27th. That is when the Friends of Smith Mountain Lake State Park will provide another great evening of Music in the Park!

No doubt the performances by Wound Tight and The Old Dominion Cloggers will be something to talk about for days. The parking is FREE. Admission is only $5 per person with kids 12 and under allowed in free.

Food and snacks will be available for purchase on site. So bring a comfy lawn chair or blanket, a few friends or the whole family and be prepared to enjoy an evening of old fashioned fun. For more information about this event you can call 540-297-6066.

Smith Mountain Lake’s current claim to fame, the production of the movie, “Lake Effects”, has reached a turning point. The filming has been completed (on schedule) and is currently in the final editing process in Los Angeles. You can see a list of cast/crew credits and other details at Life Out Loud Films website.

The producers of the award-winning film team for Lake Effects and the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra Music Director, David Stewart Wiley, have announced that the RSO will record a portion of the music for the film. The music by the 57 year old Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, which performs recordings for national distribution and collaborates with international stars in the classical and pops world, will be inserted into the film during the coming month.

Maestro Wiley commented “It is exciting for our professional musicians to be a part of this feature film. Rather than use a studio orchestra from L.A. or New York, the producers and directors have recognized the treasure that we have here in Virginia with the RSO. This project will help bring even more awareness to the remarkably high quality of music in our region, and we are thrilled to collaborate on this project.”

Film Producer Sara Elizabeth Timmins commented: “Lake Effects” has exceeded all of our expectations, with major talent like Jane Seymour, a truly stellar cast and now the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra!”

Exciting stuff folks! I don’t know about you but I am greatly looking forward to seeing the finished product!